Does Islam need its own renaissance?

Islam itself does not need renewing, but many Muslims do. They need to return to the Holy Qur’an and to the Holy Prophet Muhammad (saw), because that is where the search for knowledge begins which once enlightened the Muslim world.

It is true that Europe received much of its ancient heritage back through Muslim scholars, above all by way of Spain. But these scholars did not merely store old knowledge and pass it on. They examined it and went far beyond it. In medicine, geometry, algebra and astronomy, important works were written in that period which are still respected today.

Where did this strength come from? Those scholars took the Holy Qur’an seriously, both in its words and in its spirit. Again and again it calls on people to reflect, to study creation and to seek knowledge wherever it can be found. Anyone who takes this seriously will learn even from people of other backgrounds and other faiths.

In many Muslim countries today the picture is different. Many people appeal to the same book and the same Prophet, yet in reality they follow interpretations from a later, darker period of Muslim history. On their way back into the past they stop at the Middle Ages and do not go on to the Holy Prophet Muhammad (saw), whose time was bright and open. So what they hand on is the narrowness of later centuries, not the teaching of Islam.

A renewal is therefore needed, but it does not mean turning away from faith. It means returning to its source. The second verse above says that God does not change the condition of a people until they change what is in their own hearts. When Muslims once again take the Holy Qur’an as seriously as those early scholars did, the love of knowledge will return as well.